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Friday, August 10, 2018

David Corbett and Doc Holliday

DEBORAH CROMBIE: I didn't really grow up watching westerns. Well, I do remember The Lone Ranger (should I even admit that?) And my favorite cousin and I watched Gunsmoke together and then acted out our own plots with what served as action figures in the day. I remember we had a lot of fun hanging Bat Masterson from the stairwell in my house. (Okay, so we were weird. We both grew up okay.) But, that said, there was always a certain allure to the stories of Wyatt Earp--and, of course, Doc Holliday. He was just such a tragic, romantic figure. And, now, thanks to the talent of David Corbett, he's downright haunting. Here's David to tell you about him.

The Gunman and The NunBy David Corbett

First, it’s a delight to be invited back to Jungle Red Writers. Deborah Crombie asked me to talk a little about how I came by the idea for my upcoming novel, THE LONG-LOST LOVE LETTERS OF DOC HOLLIDAY. In truth, the idea’s been floating around in the back of my mind for decades. I grew up in the era of the great TV Westerns— Have Gun, Will Travel; Wagon Train; Maverick; Gunsmoke; Rawhide; The Rebel; The Rifleman; The Lone Ranger; and, of course, The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp, where I first made the acquaintance of John Henry “Doc” Holliday. I would meet him again in various incarnations: Victor Mature in My Darling Clementine, Kirk Douglas in The Gunfight at the OK Corral, Jason Robards in Hour of the Gun, Stacy Keach in Doc, Val Kilmer in Tombstone, Dennis Quaid in Wyatt Earp. Several of these portrayals proved compelling, but none of them, I’d learn, were all that accurate. (I somewhat sheepishly harbor a certain fondness for Victor Mature’s performance; though certainly the least heralded of the actors named, and the one bearing possibly the least physical resemblance to Doc, he nonetheless comes closest to capturing Doc’s fatalistic desperation. Then again, maybe that’s just because of John Ford’s majestically stark lighting.)The fact that so many attempts to capture Doc failed to faithfully evoke his essence only made him all the more intriguing to me, through the sheer fact that he proved so elusive.But what particularly piqued my imagination was the fact that Doc had a life-long correspondence with his cousin, Mattie, who was rumored to have been his sweetheart—a theory made all the more beguiling by the fact that she subsequently entered the convent. I mean, what about that isn’t fascinating?Adding to the intrigue is the fact that Mattie destroyed the letters near the end of her life, meaning we’ll never know for sure what they contained—a situation any self-respecting writer of fiction would consider a call to arms. (More on that in a moment.)In all of my novels, one way or another, I’ve addressed the notion of redemptive love. By that I mean the ability, through loving and accepting that we are loved, we can move beyond our guilt and shame, our fear and weakness, to reclaim a place in the human community. Love grants us both the dignity and the humility to do that, if honestly given and acknowledged. The trick lies in the honesty. Often the shame and guilt and fear are unrelenting, and we fool ourselves into half measures in order to avoid a full reckoning of what we’ve done and who we’ve hurt. Sometimes love, especially romantic love, can fool us into thinking that since someone sees us in a favorable light, maybe we’re not as weak or scared or guilty as we know ourselves to be. Maybe love can give us a pass, and we can slide by. When that happens, we all too often end up jeopardizing not just the love but the forgiveness, the wholeness we crave.Doc offers a perfect example. He was clearly heartbroken when his mother died from tuberculosis, and was enraged when, only three months later, his father remarried. Making matters worse, the bride was a young woman a mere seven years old than Doc himself (he was fifteen). Her family lived just down the road, suggesting the elder Holliday had been courting her while his dying wife lay suffering at home. Doc’s father didn’t merely betray his wife, however. Shortly after the war, dedicated to making the best of post-war circumstances, he became head of the local Freedman’s Bureau, which a teenage Doc, utterly dispirited by the Confederacy’s surrender, saw as little different than consorting with the enemy.This kindled in Doc a simmering rage that haunted him throughout his life. His Herculean consumption of alcohol only exacerbated that. Before he left Georgia for the West, he was diagnosed with the same disease that had killed his mother, so he knew he would not live to a ripe old age. Trained as a dentist, he also knew that he had two recourses for the pain he would suffer—laudanum and alcohol. He chose the latter, and arduously self-medicated for the rest of his life.The quickness and vehemence of his temper was legendary, prompting a reputation as “the touchiest drunk in the West.” But as Bat Masterson pointed out, despite Doc’s genius for getting into seemingly endless, desperate scrapes, the irony remained that very few were his own doing. Rough men just thought they could get the better of a frail, natty, tubercular drunk who they suspected of cheating, no matter how keen his intelligence, sharp his tongue, violent his disposition, or true his aim.That reputation, though inflated or outright fabricated in many of its details, has been handed down from the beginning. What has only been guessed at is why such an irascible, volatile fatalist kept up a life-long correspondence with his saintly cousin? The most incriminating letters were burned by Mattie, despite her belief that, if people could only read them, they would have a far more generous impression of the kind of man Doc was. This begs the question—if the letters were innocent, and her relationship with Doc was completely Platonic as the family has consistently professed, why destroy them?It’s been conjectured that the reason Doc and Mattie did not develop their relationship openly was because the Catholic Church forbade marriage between first cousins. This becomes all the more compelling when one learns that the name Mattie chose upon entering the convent—Sister Mary Melanie—references a saint who did in fact marry her first cousin. (Another interesting fact: Margaret Mitchell, who was related to Doc and Mattie, based the character Melanie in Gone With the Wind on her aunt the Sister of Mercy, and it is often conjectured that Rhett Butler owes no small inspirational debt to Doc.)All of this points to a far more interesting question: if Doc and Mattie were in fact sweethearts, what was the nature of their attraction? And what kept it alive for the rest of Doc’s life?Mattie helped Doc care for his mother, and no doubt saw in him a profound capacity for affection, devotion, and sacrifice. The more I learned about Doc, the more I came to believe that the bond between them lay in the fact that she knew the man Doc could be, and refused to allow him to forget that. She echoed the angel in his nature that so often got shouted down by the devil in it. For Doc’s part, I think he truly hoped that Mattie would decide that their love was more important than her Catholicism. His mother, on her deathbed, turned away from Presbyterianism— her husband’s faith, with its harsh Calvinist devotion to the concept of election (predestination)—and converted back to the Methodism of her youth, with its belief in grace through good works. “Deeds not creeds,” was how the distinction was known. Doc’s mother did this as an example to Doc, because she did not want him believing he might be damned with no recourse, or that his deeds meant nothing. If his mother could convert for his sake, why couldn’t Mattie?This created an unrelenting tension between them. As I came to imagine it, Mattie continued trying to appeal to Doc’s better nature, hoping he would turn away from his nihilistic pursuit of danger and chance and return within the fold of faith and family. Doc, for his part, hoped that his slow-motion self-destruction would lure Mattie west, to save not just his soul but his life, and that once they were reunited he could convince her to stay with him.I decided against simply writing an epistolary novel consisting of the letters alone, and instead, inspired by A.S. Byatt’s Possession, elected to write a novel with two parallel story lines, one contained in the correspondence, the other a modern-day narrative based on the sudden, unexpected, and questionable reappearance of the letters. Since the letters no longer exist, of course, I would have to do what any honorable writer of fiction would do: I wrote them myself. (One of the most gratifying, if inadvertent compliments I’ve received was from someone who asked, “Where did you find these letters?”)The key, however, was always the notion that love can somehow make us whole. It’s a very seductive lie. When Mattie entered the convent, effectively ending any hope of her and Doc as a couple, Doc’s life entered the inexorable downward spiral that would end in his lonely death four years later. I think it was only near the end he realized he had lived in the false hope that, with Mattie by his side, he would not have to face his demons directly; they would just magically vanish through the grace of her affection. And conversely, Mattie’s decision to become a nun indicated a long-resisted acceptance on her part that love is not enough—she could not lure Doc back to virtue (or Georgia) simply by using their connection as bait.This same dynamic—hoping love can absolve us of shortcomings we refuse to honestly admit ourselves—animates the present-day story line of the novel as well. Though the letters serve as a MacGuffin for the characters, and they pursue them relentlessly, even violently, the letters aren’t the real thing of value any of them craves. What motivates them all is the need for validation through love. And several characters endure incredible hardship and suffering in the effort to prove themselves worthy of that love, as though hoping their punishment will finally allow them at last to be forgiven. To her credit, my protagonist, Lisa Balamaro, comes to recognize the bait-and-switch this kind of love represents, but she has to travel a pretty rough road to reach that self-awareness.

DEBS: Although I say I'm not well-versed in westerns, I've actually seen at least half of the films David mentions, and I have to say I'm voting for Dennis Quaid in Wyatt Earp. (But then I always vote for Dennis Quaid.)

The most notorious love letters in American history—supposedly destroyed
a century ago—mysteriously reappear, and become the coveted prize in a
fierce battle for possession that brings back to life the lawless world
evoked in the letters themselves.

Lisa Balamaro is an ambitious arts lawyer with a secret crush on her
most intriguing client: former rodeo rider and reformed art forger, Tuck
Mercer. In his newfound role as expert in Old West artifacts, Tuck
gains possession of the supposedly destroyed correspondence between Doc
Holliday and his cousin and childhood sweetheart, Mattie—who would
become Sister Mary Melanie of the Sisters of Mercy.Given
the unlikelihood the letters can ever be fully authenticated, Tuck
retains Lisa on behalf of the letters’ owner, Rayella Vargas, to sell them
on the black market. But the buyer Tuck finds, a duplicitous judge from
the Tombstone area, has other, far more menacing ideas. As Lisa works feverishly to make things right, Rayella secretly enlists her ex-marine boyfriend in a daring scheme of her own.When
the judge learns he’s been blindsided, he rallies a cadre of armed men
for a deadly standoff reminiscent of the moment in history that made Doc
famous: The Gunfight at the OK Corral.

David Corbett is the award-winning author of six novels, including 2018’s The Long-Lost Love Letters of Doc Holliday, the story collection Thirteen Confessions, and the writing guide The Art of Character (“A writer’s bible” – Elizabeth Brundage). His short fiction has been selected twice for Best American Mystery Stories, and his non-fiction has appeared in the New York Times, Narrative, and Writer’s Digest, where he is a contributing editor. www.davidcorbett.com

David and his wife, Mette

DEBS: Readers, are you western fans? Do you have a favorite Doc Holliday? Stop in and chat with David!

71 comments:

Count me among the western fans; I, too, grew up in the days of “The Lone Ranger” and “The Rifleman.” I have a soft spot in my heart for Arthur Kennedy’s portrayal of Doc Holliday [opposite Jimmy Stewart] in John Ford’s “Cheyenne Autumn” . . . .

I have to say, I know nothing about Doc Holliday, nor am I a fan of westerns (I don't think I've ever seen any), but I found this whole post fascinating. I had never heard of the story about Mattie before, or the connection to Margaret Mitchell. It gives one much to think about.

Indeed it do, Maria. Indeed it do. I've found the constant focus on Doc and Kate "Big Nose Kate" Elder, the former prostitute who was his on-again off-again consort for several years, to largely miss the point as to where Doc's heart lay. (Though, Deb, I too like the Dennis Quaid portrayal of Doc, which is greatly enhanced by the incredibly flattering portrayal of Kate by Isabella Rossallini.) He and Kate were known for their violent, drunken quarrels, Kate betrayed Doc (at which point Wyatt Earp told Doc to get rid of her for good), and they parted ways not long after the Gunfight at the OK Corral. In contrast, he wrote to Mattie up until his death, and made arrangements to have his belongings, including her letters to him, shipped to her. --David

I did watch Westerns as a kid - The Lone Ranger, etc. And I've seen a couple of the movies mentioned. My favorite Doc - well, I've seen Val Kilmer and also Dennis Quaid. I'd go with Dennis. But then, I'm from Texas - I'd likely always go with Dennis. I am not a reader of Westerns or books with Western themes, but I'm also fascinated with the Margaret Mitchell connection and the whole idea of the letters. The summary of David's book makes me want to read it and I'll make note of it. Enjoyed this!

I grew up watching Westerns; John Wayne is still my hero. Your book sounds truly intriguing, David. I'll never understand why people destroy letters or journals but what fantastic opportunity to write a good story!

Of course I watched westerns, from Red Ryder and Hopalong Cassidy to my modern favorite, Django Unchained, which I've watched many times. I love Christopher Waltz's portrayal of Dr. King Schultz, a huge nod to Doc Holiday.

But I think the only one I've read in recent memory is LONESOME DOVE. And BARKSKINS, which is Annie Proulx's northeastern western if you will. Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey never intrigued me.

Oh my, how can I forget James Lee Burke and the Holland Family Saga. I take it all back. It's odd how I equate westerns and spaghetti when there is all these great stories. I'm off to order THE LONG LOST LOVE LETTERS OF DOC HOLIDAY! Thank you for being here, David.

Thank you, Ann. Isn't in interesting how often we overlook James Lee Burke when we think of westerns, but the Holland family saga is exactly that. (And I agree, it's wonderful.) BTW: I a profile with The Week Magazine, JLB named as one of his "must reads" THE BIG SKY by A.B. Guthrie. This is what he said:

"This is perhaps the most Homeric novel in American writing. Guthrie wrote about the American West as though he were writing about Creation itself. The prose reaches levels that seem metaphysical. Guthrie (who also wrote the screen adaptation of SHANE) and John Neihardt taught everybody else how to do it right. The rest of us, from Louis L'Amour to guys like me, remain their students."

BTW: That $3.99 price tag for the ebook is permanent, as far as I know. --David

Oh, I really want to read this book!That's what we had growing up - Westerns and Father Knows Best. I think my favorite was Wagon Train. John Wayne, of course was always the greatest hero ever!As for those letters one reason Mattie may have destroyed them was because they were private, for her eyes only. I can understand her not wanting anyone else to see them.

You pretty much nailed it, Judy. Though Mattie thought the letters could redeem Doc's image, there were things in there that a Sister of Mercy probably considered outside the realm of acceptable expression. And nobody's business but her own. --David

My two favorite John Wayne movies are True Grit and The Cowboys. In the latter, Roscoe Lee Browne is cast in a remarkable supporting role. Also, not to forget the movie set in Australia, The Man From Snowy River.

My favorite western novel of all time is TRUE GRIT. (George Pelecanos routinely names this as his favorite novel of all time.) And I thought the Coen brothers did a great job in the remake. Jeff Bridges is an incandescent Rooster Cogburn. (I understand if you prefer the Duke, however.)

Speaking of Australian westerns: Don't overlook THE TRUE HISTORY OF THE KELLY GANG, based on Peter Carey's wonderful novel. Also check out THE PROPOSITION, written by singer-songwriter (and novelist!) Nick Cave, and starring the always spectacular Ray Winstone, Guy Pearce, and Emily Watson.

As for John Williams -- not my cup of tea. Sorry, Deb & Gigi. I'm much more in the minimalist camp -- Bernard Hermann, e.g. And Randy Newman's scores for SEABISCUIT and PLEASANTVILLE are among my two favorite of all time, precisely because because they capture the atmosphere without burying it in 200 strings.

No problem, David. Just sliding in a sly promo for the Dallas Winds' latest release, which includes the overture to The Cowboys, and liner notes by yours truly. None of that "burying it under 200 strings" stuff for my band. We are pretty much a no-strings-attached ensemble.

I find the fact that Mattie kept the letters after she entered the convent interesting, also the fact that her choices were either Doc or the convent--no other suitable suitors? Doc or God? God or Doc? Interesting. I love the way the idea for the book percolated in your mind for years--it's clear the story had a powerful hold on you--will definitely be checking it out!

And I grew up in the golden age of TV westerns also. My mom was a big fan of the genre--tv, movies, and books. My favorite was Maverick--always loved the touch of humor.

Ah, Maverick. James Garner also played Wyatt Earp in the same film that featured Jason Robards as Doc. The film begins with a bombastic statement, THIS IS HOW IT REALLY HAPPENED, then proceeds to butcher historical fact beyond all recognition. But JG was not only a wonderful Bret Maverick, he was a first-rate Jim Rockford. Thanks for commenting, Flora. --David

The lack of strong female characters is the main reason I quit reading westerns, too, Amanda. The one that tore it for me was the one where the woman was a catatonic deaf mute. Really? I think the women who helped settle the west were made of sterner stuff, and had very interesting stories.

I began this novel as a follow-up to THE MERCY OF THE NIGHT, with Phelan Tierney as its protagonist, but my agent, knowing I wanted to shop the book to other publishers, noted she couldn't sell the second book in an ongoing series to a new publisher, and more importantly that publishers were looking for strong women protagonists. So I rewrote the first 100 pages to change my protagonist to Lisa Balamaro, a young arts lawyer who gets roped into (sorry) trying to sell the Doc-Mattie letters when they suddenly reappear. Lisa is a composite of three women I know, including one Philly Italian, one poet known for her wild side, and a lawyer friend who backs down from no one.

As for women on the frontier, you're absolutely right. The more history you read, especially in recent explorations, the presence of impressive women becomes clear. One great example the story of the Apache woman warrior Lozen, Victorio's sister; it's one of the great tales in American history.

But in the post-war westerns, women usually represent the civilizing influence that brought the frontier to a close. Even in UNFORGIVEN, a film a like very much, the women, though willful and complex, are still prostitutes. (There was, admittedly, a great deal of that trade in the terminus and mining towns of the West; most of the Earp wives were former prostitutes who became "common law" wives.)

I thought DEADWOOD managed to portray a wide range of strong, credible, complex women characters, from Calamity Jane to Alma Garrett to Trixie. And WESTWOROLD's doing a nice job on that front as well.

Hiya, David! I was a commenter for awhile on Murderati. Miss that blog.

I've ordered the book, thank you. Since I was a little girl watching the Lone Ranger, Spin and Marty, The Rifleman, Davy Crockett and Daniel Boone, The Rebel (Johnny Yuma, swoon), I've been a fan of Westerns. Did you know, in 1958, seven of the top ten TV series were Westerns? No wonder they captured the American imagination.

Larry McMurtry wrote a lot of Western books, starting with Lonesome Dove. And Annie Proulx has several titles, as well, mostly short stories (including Brokeback Mountain). Really looking forward to reading more about Doc Holliday, too!

Ah....you know how much I love you, David! And you know I know you are a fabulous writer. ANd I adore the Art of Character, too However. I have to say I am not a fan of westerns. And when I watch them in movies--Jonathan makes me--I wind up crying every time. Every time! They are way too sad. (I did like Sky King though, does that count?) And Karen, now I am singing the Rebel theme song, thank you so much... Oh, I guess I liked Paladin, too. But that was long ago... Welcome welcome!

SKY KING!!!! ("Out of the western skies...") His niece, Penny, was the most conspicuous plot device ever conceived. "What happens in the next episode? Penny gets too curious, stumbles onto the bad guys' plot, gets captured, and Sky has to rescue her!" Not the most demanding writers' room. (See Gigi's & Amanda's comments above about westerns and women characters.)

And Paladin: I loved the show as a kid, but when I tried watching an episode recently I thought: God God, if this was any slower it qualify as a glacier. I couldn't even get into it on the grounds I worked for a PI named Palladino.

As for crying -- that's what happens to me as I read about Native American history.

To be honest, I lost my fascination with westerns for years (like most of us -- where did they go?). But I don't think of this as a western story so much as a love story wrapped inside an action/adventure story. Yes, it addresses the myth of the West, especially as it continues to affect our understanding of ourselves as Americans today, but it's mostly about how we fool ourselves into defining what's important in our lives, when what we really need and want is usually right there in front of us all the time.

That aid, I blushed when you said all those nice things. The feelings are mutual. --David

There weren't all that many female characters out there to emulate when we were kids. I didn't want to be Lucy or Ethel. Or Venus in Fireball XL5. At least Penny got to do stuff, and she was never Little Joe's girlfriend, so she got to live. I had to be a little older to understand that Penny did stupid stuff.

I love westerns! Of course, I live in AZ and one of my hooligans is named Wyatt so this is likely not a big surprise. When I was 14, on a month long driving trip across the US, my grandmother, my brother and I read every Louis L'Amour novel ever written. David, I am your people! Your post here today was fascinating. I've always been swept up in the Wyatt-Josie relationship and never paid much attention to Doc and Mattie. Well, I'm paying attention now. I can't wait to read The Long Lost Love Letters of Doc Holiday and my husband is a western fan, too, so I'm sure he's on board as well. Thanks for stopping by today!

I grew up watching all the horse operas on TV. We kids could sing all the theme songs. My girlfriends and I all had a crush on Johnny Yuma. And I still maintain my crush on James Garner. I think Val Kilmer is my favorite Doc--all that charm. I look forward to reading your book. I'm your huckleberry.

I'm not going to weigh in on my fave Doc Holliday (Leonard McCoy, obvs) but to say reading this is like a masterclass in analyzing character and motivation, which in turn will fuel the plot. David, are you doing any teaching? Because if not, you should be.

I do, indeed, teach quite a bit, Julia. You can go to my website and click on the Teaching page to learn about my upcoming classes.

I have one coming up on August 25th in Phoenix with the local chapter of Sisters in Crime, and I co-chair the Book Passage Mystery Writers' Conference, where I'm teaching a pre-conference class on secondary characters in crime fiction and leading workshops on character, plot, and dialogue/scene structure among other things.

I also have a weekend intensive workshop with Steven James coming up in Atlanta on Oct 25-26, and I teach regularly online through Litreactor (my next class will begin in November). --David

If I were to suggest a western to a reader who hasn't read one, I would definitely suggest TRUE GRIT by Charles Portis. Mattie Ross, at 14-years-old, is one of the most compelling protagonists in all of American literature -- speaking of strong women leads in westerns. (It's also quite short, and a brisk read, and very funny.)

Although not strictly historical, I love the letters that make up DANGEROUS LIAISONS. And the single letter that Evariste Galois wrote to his friend Auguste Chevallier the night before he was killed in a senseless duel at the age of 20 revolutionized algebra. --David

Oh, this book sounds so amazing. Doc Holliday is one of those tragic figures that I always wanted to turn out differently. As you say, I'm sure the inaccuracies in the movies featuring him were many, but the movie Tombstone is one of the most watched movies in my house, especially for my husband. I haven't watched it in quite a while. I will be reading your book, David, for sure.

I grew up with Westerns on TV. I just missed The Lone Ranger, as I was only three when the show ended in 1957, but there were plenty more I caught. The Rifleman, Wagon Train, Bonanza, Gunsmoke, Maverick, The Big Valley, Rawhide, Cheyenne, Have Gun-Will Travel, The Virginian, and going into my teens, Alias Smith and Jones. Then there were the Westerns in movies, with John Wayne (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence a favorite) and Clint Eastwood (The Good, the Bad, the Ugly being memorable) and the star-studded How the West was Won (with my major crush, George Peppard), and Paul Newman in Hud. And, getting into the 70s and beyond, some favorites include serious and comedies, such as Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Little Big Man, The Life and Times of Judge Roy Bean, Unforgiven, Tombstone, Maverick (the movie), Blazing Saddles. I'm going to stop there, except to mention Lonesome Dove, the television mini-series that was so great. Most recently my husband and I enjoyed Hell on Wheels and Godless.

I have to admit to knowing virtually every one of those shows (I'm a year older than you), and all but a couple of the films -- and I don't even think of myself as a western buff, just a film buff. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence resonates not just because of the Gene Pitney tune, but Jimmy Stewart's performance. I really recommend the Jimmy Stewart westerns of the 1950s -- he brought a tortured soldier-back-from-the-war quality to his portrayals based on his own experience in WWII. Especially Bend in the River, Naked Spur, The Far Country and The Man from Laramie. Broken Arrow suffers from having Jeff Chandler play Cochise (talk about wooden Indian), but Stewart plays Tom Jeffords, an Apache Indian Agent who was a truly decent and compassionate man, but he never wrote about his life. I was also tickled by your inclusion of Judge Roy Bean -- one of my all-time favorites. I also enjoyed hell on Wheels -- especially the Norwegian "Swede" -- and Godless was awesome. I hope you enjoy the book.

Somehow I missed this yesterday (I was having technical difficulties with computers, maybe that's why). Anyway, while I usually have to go with Dennis Quaid, I have a weird soft-spot for Val Kilmer in this role. Don't ask me why.

I love westerns that be books and movies I think i got it from my dad who if there wasn't a sports game on tv or horses running at the track he's read westen books then at night always look for a movie. peggy clayton

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